"BACALLA"

Many years ago, when I was in my first house there was a family that lived a little up the way. Down a street a few doors, this amazing family grew up with my kids and together with other families we grew and felt a kinship that never died.

This one family had a wonderful cohesion of love and kinship that really made or an example of family love and pride. The dad, Tony, worked in his own business as a mechanic and would work on my old clunker for nothing, especially when I couldn't afford much, just moving into the neighborhood and trying to establish myself. The mother, Marie, was a very sweet and good natured person, who deserved a lot of credit for raising her wonderful children, three boys, and a daughter.

The daughter grew up to be a vice president, one son became a carpenter and ran his own business successfully, and one son became a doctor while the other works in the medical field.

But back then, they were growing into adulthood, and often I would see them like geese walking across my road, the tallest to the shortest in line. It was a great sight to see.

Then one day something terrible happened, Tony the Dad was diagnosed with brain cancer, and in those days, it wasn't a diagnosis that promised relief, just sorrow, and sadness, and indeed it struck. Tony began to lose his cognitive ability to express himself and soon was totally gone. He gained weight and was lost to the world and family.

When he was at the end of his life, we had already moved to a new house and happened to have an in-ground pool. It was a scorching summer and poor Tony like anyone else was suffering from the heat and humidity. Being in touch with Marie, we offered her the use of our poor anytime of the day or night. She accepted. I got a big tire inner tube and Tony would walk with assistance from Marie and manage to get into the donut-shaped tube. Once he was in, and we let him float in the cool water, his joy was sung out with his saying: "BACALLA! BACALLA!" To hear him express what seemed to be a nonsense was indeed fun to the ears since we knew he was enjoying himself. I often wondered why that word came to mind for him, but I was just glad he was happy.

Then Tony took a turn for the worst and left behind his beautiful family, a loving and devoted wife, and four amazing children. I often hear the word ‘amazing' and cringe, because it is all too often misused and over-stated, but in this case, that is what the family was.

Time ran out for Tony on Earth, but his legacy grows and spreads as they often do when someone passes who is so noteworthy. I think ‘Bacalla' was what he may have loved once and this experience in the pool made him remember what he liked.

‘Bacalla' is Italian for dried salt codfish, and when an Italian makes it, it is delicious, just like Tony's time in the pool.